LAHORE: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan gave on Sunday a nine-point agenda to end inflation, unemployment, corruption and various socio-economic problems and announced that the party’s “tsunami movement” against price hike and oppression would be expanded to Sindh and Rawalpindi next month.

He was addressing a massive rally on The Mall which could not reach its Chairing Cross destination and ended at the GPO-High Court Chowk after travelling about one kilometre in over two hours.

A police contingent escorted the rally only as a silent spectator. But the Old Anarkali police later registered a report against leaders and workers of the PTI for violating Section 144.

Mr Khan said the tsunami movement would reach Sindh on Jan 6 and Rawalpindi on Jan 24. “This movement will help to liberate Pakistan from American slavery, restore peace, bring investment and defeat inflation.”

The PTI chief urged the government to curb power theft, bring haves into the tax net, revert GST rate to the May 11 level and take measures to let political leaders, industrialists and businessmen to bring their wealth back to the country.

He called for taking on the mafia making abnormal profits and warned the government against printing currency notes to meet its rising expenditure. He said the PTI would table a bill in the National Assembly for converting governors’ houses into parks and hotels and get additional revenue. All these measures would contain inflation and provide relief to the masses, he added. Mr Khan called upon Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to join hands with the PTI for getting drone attacks stopped and ending Nato supplies for the “cause of peace”.

He alleged that the present government was opposing the PTI actions to get US ‘aid’. “Nato supplies were blocked to end terrorism and restore peace which will eventually bring investment and provide relief to the people.”

He accused the government of announcing schemes to let (wealthy people) to whiten their black money.

In order to generate revenue, he suggested to the PML-N government to bring all wealthy people, including three million owners of big houses, into the tax net, plug pilferages in the power distribution system, bring money lying in foreign banks to Pakistan, fix corrupt people and adopt austerity measures to give relief to the masses reeling under unbridled price hike. The downtrodden, he said, were becoming unable to feed their children.

About the performance of his party in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Mr Khan said the PTI government was taking extraordinary measures and had sacked a minister of a coalition partner on corruption charges.

He criticised the role of the National Accountability Bureau which he alleged was carrying out orders of the prime minister. He said the KP government would soon set up an independent accountability cell with powers to make even the chief minister accountable. There will be no peace and no end to inflation without eradicating corruption.

Responding to allegations about power theft in KP, he said the PTI would eliminate the menace from the province if it was empowered to handle all matters relating to power supply.

Mr Khan appealed to people not to elect the politicians who were amassing wealth in foreign banks and multiplying it with inflation and devaluation of the rupee at home.

Reiterating his demand for recounting of votes in four constituencies, he said it would have been done if the May 11 ‘match’ had not been ‘fixed’ in Lahore. The PTI had accepted the election results, but not the rigging, he said, adding that his party and the masses were looking towards the Supreme Court for justice.

Jamaat-i-Islami Amir Syed Munawar Hassan said the government should hold talks with the Taliban and other stakeholders to restore peace in the country. The use of force had not achieved desired results in Balochistan and Karachi, he said, adding that the army operation in Waziristan should be immediately stopped.

“The US has pitted Pakistan’s army against its people as part of an international agenda,” he said.

Awami Muslim League chief Sheikh Rashid accused Prime Minister Sharif of “distributing” lucrative posts among members of his family. He said the federal government had launched Rs100 billion youth loan scheme, but nobody was ready to be guarantor of the poor youth.

Mr Rasheed said nobody was calling for mid-term elections but the demand was being made from within the PML-N ranks.

A large number of PTI workers and supporters had started gathering at Nasser Bagh early in the morning, but the rally gained momentum at around 2pm. The slow movement of the rally from Nasser Bagh to Chairing Cross caused some supporters to disperse midway.

A number of party workers and leaders, including Opposition Leader in the Punjab Assembly Mian Mahmoodur Rasheed, had reached Chairing Cross but faced embarrassment because the rally had stopped at GPO Chowk for Imran Khan’s address.